, also spelt , was a cargo steamship. She was built in Germany for Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) in 1912 as Prussia. She became in 1917, when Brazil seized her and renamed her.

In the first weeks of the First World War, Prussia was an auxiliary ship for an Imperial German Navy cruiser in the South Atlantic. That September, Prussia sought refuge in a port in neutral Brazil. Brazil seized her in 1917, after Germany started sinking Brazilian merchant ships.

Lloyd Brasileiro was managing by 1923, and owned her by 1927. She disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean in February 1942; most naval historians credit her sinking to the Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci.

She was the first of two Lloyd Brasileiro cargo ships to be named after Cabedelo in northeastern Brazil. Lloyd's Register always recorded her Brazilian name as , with a double "L". After the war, Lloyd Brasileiro owned a cargo ship that was spelt , without the double "L". Canadian Vickers built her in 1945; she was still registered in 1959; but Lloyd's Register had deleted her by 1965.

Prussia-class cargo ships Between 1912 and 1920, Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft in Flensburg built a class of seven cargo steamships for HAPAG, for service between Hamburg and the east coast of South America. Prussia was the lead ship of the class. She and Palatia were completed in 1912; followed by Phoenicia and Persia in 1914; Patria in 1919; and Polaria and Parthia in 1920. The last three ships never entered HAPAG service. The United Kingdom seized Patria, Polaria, and Parthia as part of World War I reparations, as soon as they were completed.

Building and registration Flensburger Schiffbau built the ship as yard number 321; launched her as Prussia on 23 April 1912; and completed her on 14 June. Her registered length was ; her beam was , and her depth was . Her tonnages were and . She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine that was rated at 318 NHP or 2,200 IHP, and gave her a speed of or .

HAPAG registered Prussia in Hamburg. Her code letters were RHSV. She was equipped with wireless telegraphy. In 1918 her German call sign was recorded as DJL, but by that time Brazil had seized her.

Auxiliary ship

In the first weeks of the First World War, Prussia was an auxiliary ship for the cruiser . On 15 August 1914, Dresden captured the British cargo ship Hyades; interned her crew; and sank her by gunfire. The internees were transferred to Prussia, which released them at Rio de Janeiro.

Prussia reached Rio de Janeiro on 20 August. Five days later she left, supposedly for Santos, which is one day's voyage from . However, she did not reach until 24 September 1914. She was suspected of supplying a German cruiser or auxiliary cruiser during her unexplained month at sea.

Brazilian service In February 1917, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. That April and May, German U-boats sank three Brazilian steamships. On 11 April, Brazil terminated diplomatic relations with Germany. On 2 June, Brazil seized 46 German merchant ships that were sheltering in Brazilian ports. They included three Prussia-class ships: Prussia and Palatia in ; and Persia in Cabedelo. They were renamed ; ; and respectively.

By 1919, was registered in Rio de Janeiro. By 1920, the Government of France had chartered her. was managing her by 1923, and owned her by 1927. By 1934, her four-letter call sign was PUAN, and this had superseded her code letters.

On 19 December 1938, ran aground in Rio Grande do Norte. She was refloated on or about 8 January 1939.

Loss In the early part of the Second World War, Brazil was again neutral. However, on 15 and 18 February 1942, German submarines sank two Brazilian merchant ships off the East Coast of the United States: Buarque and Olinda. One member of Buarques crew was killed.

Just before these two attacks, on 14 February, left Philadelphia for Rio de Janeiro via the Antilles with a cargo of coal. Her Master was Captain . She carried 13 officers; three boatswains; and 37 other crew. She was never seen or heard from again, and all 54 men of her complement were lost, presumed dead. There were no storms on her route, so the Brazilian authorities assumed that had been sunk by a submarine, as Buarque and Olinda were confirmed to have been. Brazil considers s crew to be victims of war. The names of her crew are included on the Monument to the Dead of World War II in Rio de Janeiro.

Prominent naval historians, including Alberto Santoni, teacher of naval and military history at the University of Pisa, and Jürgen Rohwer of the University of Stuttgart, one of the most renowned World War II naval historians and U-Boat expert, credit the sinking of to the . On 25 February 1942, Da Vinci hit a darkened steamer with two torpedoes, and witnesses her sinking in six minutes in 15°15' N and 52°40' W; the submarine then tried to approach the three lifeboats to question the survivors, but was unable to do so due to the rough weather, and was thus unable to identify its victim. The time and location of this attack would match those of the missing Cabedello, although this is disputed by Brazilian author Roberto Sander.Uboat.netHistorisches MarinearchivSecond Happy Time World War II databaseNavios brasileiros atacados por forças da Alemanha e Italia 1941-1945Seekrieg 1942, FebruarNaval History, February 1942

Another historian alleges that was sunk on 14 February: the day she left Philadelphia. That would make her the first Brazilian ship to be sunk by Axis naval action in 1942. Another allegation is that the , which attacked two merchant ships off the Guianas on 19 February, sank . A third allegation is that the sank her.

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